Concussions
By: Alex Swords
What is a concussion?
Who gets concussions?
- 5-10% of athletes will experience a concussion in any given sport season
- Football is the most common sport with concussion risk for males (75% chance for concussion)
- Soccer is the most common sport with concussion risk for females (50% chance for concussion)
What happens to your brain when you get a concussion?
Signs and Symptoms
"seeing stars" and feeling dazed, dizzy, or lightheaded
memory loss, such as trouble remembering things that happened right before and after the injury
nausea or vomiting
headaches
blurred vision and sensitivity to light
slurred speech or saying things that don't make sense
difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions
difficulty with coordination or balance (such as being unable to catch a ball or other easy tasks
feeling anxious or irritable for no apparent reason
- feeling overly tired
Diagnosis
There are two types of concussions, a simple concussion and a complex concussion.
Simple Concussion: A person with a simple concussion has symptoms that last from 6-10 days.
Complex concussion: A person with a complex concussion has symptoms that last longer than 10 days and or loses conciseness for longer than 1 min. Or even someone that has had a concussion in the past.
Treatment
- no activity
- light aerobic exercise, such as walking or stationary cycling (no resistance training)
- sports-specific exercise (for example, running in soccer, skating in hockey)
- non-contact training drills
- full contact training after medical clearance